The Age of No Gentlemen

“There are not any more gentlemen these days”. This phrase is the description of how men are viewed in modern-day society. While a few men try to reinvent the era of classic manly gestures and show their gentleman’s side, the vast majority go day to day as if being a gentleman never even existed. Have you ever wondered why that is so???

When you think of the “extinction of gentleman-ness”, you usually think of a man sacrificing his coat so the woman could avoid a puddle in her nice dress or opening a door for a lady to pass through. Although, many do not think about how society has changed the outlook on gentlemen.. or what brought it on. My personal view and what my beliefs on the extinction of the gentleman species is the very thing that men strived to impress… The women in society.

Thats right… I said women. Although this can be offensive and frowned upon by most, there are some sound and valid points on this, so try to hang with me.

See, the reason I say women are the downfall to the noble society in which gentlemen lived, is because women strive to be equal to men. But please don’t misinterpret my meanings. I do not wish for women to be itemized or any of the sort. I am glad women have the right to be vital parts of society by doing things such as voting and working. So let me clarify my meaning.

Women have had a long history of wanting to be equal to men. Equal, in this case, began with the women’s suffrage. They argued that women are just as good as men, when in reality… they still are. Just in different things. The fight for equality is a push-and-shove match between two very different parties. At the time, men and womens roles played out to their strengths. Men worked hard and long hours with their hands in order to be the primary bread-winner for the family and acted as head of the household. Women took care of the household and acted as the neck that moves the head, pointing the husband to make the best choices for the family. It was a relatively stable and straightforward relationship for many in that era.

In short, men used whatever means they could to provide for the household, while women managed what the husband brought home. If you view the needs of the family as bread, men brought home the dough, while women made it bread to keep the family going.

Men saw the desire to care for the women in a way that people take care of their most prized possession. They didn’t want even a speck of dust to scratch the surface and would do anything in their power to keep her safe.

However, women wanted to do more for the household. They wanted to work to help out and do the things that men did. They wanted to vote, they wanted to work, and they wanted to be a part of the “man’s world”. And thus, they protested and fought for years and years to get the rights of men. This led to a tear in the system of courtesy. Before long, if a man offered to give a woman a hand with some luggage, she would decline saying she could handle it. This quickly tore the hole in the fabric of gentlemen’s nature.

If a woman can do these things like a man could, then why would men go the extra mile to do it for them. This was the dawn of the extinction of the gentleman, and now men are expected to treat women the same as just another man if they were to enter the same restaurant at the same time. No special treatment for women is the norm.